Marquette 7 7 7 6 0 27
Dwight 7 7 6 6 0 26

October 20, 2023

**Revised October 23

The Dwight Trojans could not convert on a two point attempt on the final play of the game and fell to the Ottawa Marquette Crusaders in heartbreaking fashion 27 – 26 Friday night in Dwight.

The Trojans scored a touchdown with only 8 seconds on the clock on an improbable 25-yard launch from Conner Telford to Caiden Nelson and pulled within one point. The Trojans opted to go for two and the win, but the carry by Telford around right end was stopped by the Crusaders, keeping the Green and White from that elusive 6th win which would qualify them for state playoffs.

In past years, teams with 5 wins have qualified for at-large berths, so the Trojan’s chances for playing in the post-season remain alive. State Playoff finalists will be announced Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans scored first in the game on a 4-yard run by Seth Robertson. Joey Starks tacked on the point after. Marquette soon answered on a returned fumble for a score and the first quarter ended in a 7 – 7 tie.

It didn’t take long and the Trojans were on the board again, when Telford connected with Starks on an 11-yard pass. Starks kicked through the point after.  Once again the Crusaders had an answer and got into the end zone with 38 seconds to go in the second quarter. The teams went into half knotted at 14.

The Trojans came out in the second half and took the lead on a 22-yard pass from Telford to Seth Robertson. The point after kick was no good, which turned out to be critical, and Marquette held on to the lead 21 – 20.

In the back and forth event, the Crusaders scored next on a 1-yard plunge by Jacob Smith, the point after kick failed and the lead was now 27 – 20.

The Trojans took the ball on their final drive of the game and went 80 yards to score, setting up the dramatic unsuccessful 2-yard conversion attempt, and the Trojans suffered their second one-point loss, of a very encouraging 2023 season.

Telford threw for 3 touchdowns on the night, connecting for 123 yards on 10 of 16 throws. He also led rushers, racking up 130 yards on 16 runs. Seth Robertson added 105 yards on 19 carries, with one touchdown.

Joey Starks, Caiden Nelson, and Seth Robertson each scored receiving touchdowns.

Terry Wilkey led the defense with 9 tackles, one for a loss of 9 yards.

The Trojan’s have been awarded an At-Large playoff berth and will take on Seneca on their field Friday October 27 at 7 pm.

 

Dwight
RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
3 Conner Telford 16 130 8.1 25 0
21 Dylan Crouch 5 21 4.2 15 0
22 Seth Robertson 19 105 5.5 22 1
5 Caiden Nelson 7 34 4.9 11 0
Total 47 290 6.2 25 1
PASSING ATT CMP YDS SAC LG TD INT RTG
3 Conner Telford 16 10 123 1 25 3 1 99.7
Total 16 10 123 1 25 3 1 99.7
PASS RECEIVING TAR REC YDS AVG LG TD
2 0 0 0.0 0 0
11 Joey Starks 4 2 37 18.5 21 1
21 Dylan Crouch 3 2 37 18.5 25 0
22 Seth Robertson 1 1 8 8.0 8 1
5 Caiden Nelson 2 1 10 10.0 10 1
1 Drew Anderson 4 4 31 7.8 12 0
Total 16 10 123 12.3 25 3

Chicagoland Prairie Conference Standings

Playoff
Bid		 School Conference Overall Opponents’
Wins		 Points
Won Lost Won Lost For Against
R Seneca 7 0 9 0 37 343 100
C Ottawa (Marquette) 6 1 7 2 37 263 168
C Norridge (Ridgewood) 4 3 6 3 35 302 169
A Peru (St. Bede) 4 3 5 4 42 305 280
A Dwight [Dwight/Gardner-So. Wilmington Coop] 4 3 5 4 35 296 189
Elmwood Park 1 5 2 7 41 176 385
Westmont 1 6 2 7 46 96 297
Melrose Park (Walther Christian) 0 6 0 8 38 8 259

 

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